And finally tonight, for decades, she was your straight-talking, funny friend, even if you never knew her real name. Dear abby, the pioneering queen of salty advice. Well, today, the woman who was really pauline phillips, died at the age of 94. And abc's david wright tells us about the column that changed a culture. Reporter: She was google and groucho all in one. Delivering wise one-liners in answer to any question. A reader once asked, is it possible to get pregnant under water? Her response, not without a man. Her audience was bigger than oprah's. Now, I asked her, what paper would you buy? I read the one that has dear abby. Oh! Reporter: Fozzie bear's favorite, decker's too. Dear bi, iabby, I'm a serial killer. Reporter: Because dear abby always judged problems with common sense -- without judging her readers too harshly. I never worked a day in my life. Reporter: Pauline phillips told larry king she got her big break when she barged into the editor's office at "the san francisco chronicle." He said, don't call us, we'll call you. Leave your name at the desk. Reporter: She started the very next day. That was 1956. Three months earlier, her twin sister had been hired to write a similar column for "the chicago tribune." Dear abby and ann landers -- really the friedman sisters of sioux city, iowa -- would go on to be rivals for the rest of their careers. Her frank advice was sometimes shocking in its day. 1970. Dear abby, recently our 21-year-old daughter came out to us and told us she was in love with another girl. Dear mother, if your daughter is happy with what she is, then you who profess to love her must accept her as she is or not at all. Dear abby changed with the times and helped america change, too. David wright, abc news, los angeles.

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